Clitheroe museum artefacts 'may be sold off' (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Clitheroe museum artefacts 'may be sold off'

3:40pm Friday 10th July 2009 in

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HISTORIC Clitheroe artefacts could be sold off after it was revealed the council was running out of storage room for them.

Clitheroe Castle Museum’s redevelopment has left storage space for the Clitheroe Collection at a premium.

The re-modelling of the exhibition has resulted in a reduction of items on permanent display, while storage space on-site has shrunk following the museum’s redevelopment.

The lease on a temporary storage site is set to run out at the end of the month, leaving much of the collection without a home.

Coun Michael Ranson, leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, said: “Over the last 50 years we have accumulated a lot of stuff and it is going to cost an awful lot of money to store it now.

“The first thing we need to do is go through the collection and identify items that aren’t of value or worth keeping. We’ll offer these back to the families if they were donated and then maybe sell them at auction.

“We need to find a practical solution to storage, a lot of the items will never go on display and will never be seen, but we won’t be getting rid of anything that is of historic value to the town.”

A report to Tuesday’s Community Services meeting at the town hall says a cost-effective solution to the storage of the items needs to be found.

It also recommends that the council takes a more hands on role in the collection’s future management, with thought being given to the collection and disposal of items.

Items currently in storage include the Hacking Ferry, printing press, cloggers shop and a collection of old cycles, as well as the town council’s civic regalia.